


A Binding Fusion

by FusionFollower



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abusive Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Between Dream and Nightmare, Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Dream and Nightmare are fused together, Dream's really messed up, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Fusion, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Set when Dream is in prison, just kind of its own thing, not really romance but not really friendship either
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:13:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29795871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FusionFollower/pseuds/FusionFollower
Summary: Dream wasn't the only one locked away in the prison. Nightmare was there too.I mean sure, if you wanted to get technical, Nightmare was the real criminal, since he had controlled Dream's body the entire time and made him do all of these things. But really, it was Dream's fault, he should've...done something about it. So he'll take the blame, he'll allow them to punish him for Nightmare's crimes. They were fused together, so they were one and the same.OR: Dream and Nightmare are fused together and have been all this time without anyone knowing about it. Nightmare's an abusive piece of shit and Dream just can't seem to see that. But his friends are gonna do their damn best to make him realize just how bad Nightmare is even if it kills them.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Nightmare, Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream/Nightmare, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 41
Kudos: 362





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is sort of inspired by a lot of things. I've always loved the idea of Nightmare and how he's the one controlling Dream and making him play the villain, so this is basically a fic where Dream knows that fully well, but he cares about Nightmare anyways. 
> 
> Also if any of the CC's express discomfort from fics, I'll delete this.

Dream sat in the corner of the prison, picking at the tears in his jeans. His mask was tossed off to the other corner of the room. Not like he really needed it, no one ever visited besides Sam for when he dropped off food.

According to Sam, he's been locked up for a good six months. Sometimes it felt like he was imprisoned just yesterday, other times he feels he's been here forever.

 **"Are you still moping?"** Nightmare sneered from inside his head.

Dream hummed. "Guess so."

 **"We can break out. We will break out."** Nightmare insisted.

Dream scoffed at this. "And for what? So you can keep hurting my friends? Destroying the world? Breaking everything I care about?"

 **"I did it for you. For us. Together, we're unstoppable. We have immortality when we're fused together."** Nightmare's grin was obvious, even if Dream wasn't looking at him.

Dream's eyes dulled, he rested his head against the wall. "Great, so we're stuck in here forever. Why don't you just admit that you're not having fun anymore?"

For a moment, Nightmare was silent, it was strange, he always had something to say, but he didn't respond to that. 

Dream smirked slightly. "Did I hit a nerve?"

But his sass would cost him. Nightmare growled angrily in his brain and Dream gasped out in pain as Nightmare forced his body to move. Without warning, Dream slammed his head against the wall of the prison, letting out a scream.

 **"Don't test me. This body is ours to share, which means I have just as much control over it as you do."** Nightmare sneered.

Dream rubbed his head gently, wincing a little when he saw blood on his hand. But this wasn't the first time.

They often got into arguments like this, its not like he could die anyways, not while they were fused. He should have known better than to say something like that.

Just how long had Dream been fused with Nightmare? When Nightmare first made an appearance, it had been in the middle of the night.

He was a black smoke, almost. He had no real form, the smoke couldn't even form the shape of a person, he was just that, a ball of smoke.

When Dream discovered him, deep in the woods far from their land, he had been injured from battle.

A creeper had gotten the jump on him, along with a witch throwing damage potions at him.

He was certain he was going to die.

But this...this thing, Nightmare, found him, and he offered him something, something he couldn't refuse.

**_"You want to live don't you? Fuse with me, and you'll be saved."_ **

He'd been desperate. Dream wasn't ready to die yet. So he fused with the strange creature, and nothing had ever been the same since then.

It started off fun, he had a new friend to talk to in his head, and he couldn't die, which means he never lost fights. Someone could chop his head off, but it'd just reattached itself, and he'd keep fighting. He could be blown up into bits, but he'd just come back good as new.

At some point though, Nightmare turned more sinister.

He started making Dream do things he never wanted to do. He took music discs from Tommy and threatened to destroy them.

Dream would never do that to anyone. He wouldn't just take someone's most precious items and break them. That's not cool.

But he did. He stole from everyone. He exiled Tommy. He destroyed L'manburg, he threatened to kill Tubbo.

But it wasn't him. Well it was, but not really.

In a way, he and Nightmare were one and the same. They were fused together, they were one person, so in a way they shared responsibility for everything.

But Dream hadn't wanted any of that. He tried to stop Nightmare, he fought for control over his body and voice, but Nightmare wouldn't let up, he kept Dream pinned down in his own mind.

It wasn't until they were tossed into the prison that Dream finally got control over himself again, because Nightmare had no interest in being present for their imprisonment. He'd rather let Dream deal with that.

"...If you're smoke, can't you just leave?" Dream questioned softly.

But he felt a chill go through his body that told him that was the wrong thing to say.

Nightmare was angry, he could feel it, very angry. **"What? You don't want to be fused with me anymore? I _saved_ you." **Dream flinched.

"I-I know, and it's not like I don't want to be fused but-" Dream started. "AUGHHH!" He let out a scream of pain as Nightmare forced him to dig his nails into his arm.

 **"You're nothing without me! I made you someone important, someone strong! I saved your life and this is how you repay me!? Don't you care about me Dream? Don't you want to stay with me!?"** Nightmare cried, sounding genuinely hurt.

Dream's eyes softened, he looked down at the blood dribbling out of the cuts on his arm. "Of course I do...I...I wasn't thinking. Nightmare, I don't plan to un-fuse with you, I promise. You and I are together now, forever." Even if everyone else left him, Nightmare never would. He didn't care if no one understood. Nightmare truly did care about him, he just...had a hard time showing it.

Nightmare let out a breath of relief. **"Good...let's be patient. Our time to escape will come."**

Dream winced a little.

He...wasn't sure he wanted that.

Sure, being trapped in here sucked. It was scary, and cold, and dark, and lonely. But...But if he's in here, then everyone outside is safe from Nightmare, same from him, safe from them.

He just didn't want to hurt anyone anymore. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow this has 100 kudos already, which is insane, thank you so much. 
> 
> Also just to be clear, Nightmare doesn't sound any different than Dream when he's speaking through Dream's body (but I've made his words bold when he speaks so it's easier to tell the two apart)

"You're being released on specific terms." Sam announced to him calmly.

Dream stared across the lava pathway at him in disbelief, eyes wide in shock. "W-What?"

"I've observed your behavior in this cell for a long time Dream. Its been about six months, you've made no move to try to escape but being locked up as caused self-harming tendencies that won't be tolerated. We can't afford to let you die." Sam explained.

Dream held back a scoff. He couldn't die even if he tried.

"Aren't you afraid of what I'll do when I'm out?" Dream questioned.

Sam shook his head. "Like I said, you're being released on specific terms. You're to remain cuffed at all times and will have people watching your every move. You're also not to go near Tommy or Tubbo under any circumstances. Technoblade and Phil have volunteered to watch over you. You'll be staying at Phil's house, your room has already been prepared." Sam told him.

Dream winced a little. No...he didn't want to be let out. He was dangerous.

Nightmare was dangerous.

At that moment though, Nightmare seemed to have grasped what was going on and quickly took control. He smiled at Sam. "Wonderful. When do I leave?"

"Right now." Sam told him simply, unlocking the cell.

* * *

Sam had placed cuffs over his hands and connected them to the cuffs around his ankles by a chain. Techno and Phil were waiting outside.

Techno hadn't changed a bit, same sneering look Dream had grown to know. His sword resting on his back.

Phil seemed...the same. But his eyes were softer than Dream had expected, like he didn't consider Dream to be much of a threat at all.

"Alright, he's in your guys' hands now. Report any troubles." Sam told them.

"Move it." Techno grunted, shoving Dream forward by his shoulder to get him walking. Dream, or rather, Nightmare, complied and silently followed the boys.

* * *

"This is your room." Phil told him cheerfully when they got to his house.

Dream's eyes widened at the sight. Cozy bed, a bookshelf, a desk, it was...actually pretty nice.

"I hope you find it comfy, sorry but there's no windows and it locks from the other side, wouldn't want you to try and escape or murder me in my sleep!" Phil explained cheerfully.

"It's perfect, thank you." Dream told him honestly.

Techno huffed. "It's too nice, Phil. You're babying him."

"What can I say? It's in my nature." Phil grinned. "For the time being Techno will be staying here too in his own room. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll come back later to bring you lunch." Phil's eyes widened as he remembered something. "Oh right, sorry about this." He took out a potion.

Techno snatched it from him and yanked Dream's face up, Dream winced at how rough he was. Techno forced the substance down his throat and he coughed and gagged at how gross it was. "Wouldn't want you breaking your way out." He snapped.

"It causes severe fatigue, sorry but it is necessary." Phil explained.

Dream collapsed on his bed in exhaustion, he felt like his arms weighed thousands of pounds.

"I'll come back soon, until then, try to relax." Phil told him gently. Techno rolled his eyes and left the room.

Soon, Phil left as well and Dream heard the loud lock click shut from the other side.

Well, it wasn't great, but it was comfier than the prison. 

**'This is excellent. Once we get back to full strength, we'll break out of here.'** Nightmare told him enthusiastically.

Dream frowned, looking down. "But...why?"

 **'What?'** Nightmare sneered.

"I mean, this seems like a pretty nice deal, would it be so bad to stick around?" Dream commented, snuggling deeper into the bedding.

Nightmare grew silent at this, and Dream expected him to harm him somehow.

But when he didn't, Dream realized why. The fatigue, he couldn't make Dream hurt himself if he wanted too, he couldn't move his arms.

So, realizing Nightmare wasn't going to speak, Dream fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

The loud click of the lock woke him up a few hours later. Dream realized the fatigued was still going strong, he couldn't even sit up.

Phil entered with a tray of food, a sandwich and a glass of milk. "Here, this will help." He held the cup of milk to Dream's lips and helped him drink it.

Sighing in relief, Dream sat up, finally able to make his muscles move again. "Thank you." He spoke softly.

Phil chuckled. "Sure, here." He held up the sandwich to Dream's mouth. Dream took a bite and sighed in content, savoring the taste. All he got in the prison was potatoes that were going bad.

Nightmare took control of his body and smiled at Phil. **"Say, wouldn't it be easier if you just took off the restraints to let me eat?"**

"Sorry, but I'm very allergic to being murdered." Phil told him happily. "You won't be leaving those restraints any time soon."

Dream switched back when Nightmare's grip on him loosened. "That's fine, I don't...really mind honestly."

Phil stared at him for a moment in thought, humming a little. "I see..." 

He continued to feed Dream the sandwich while a calm Technoblade waited outside the door, arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.

* * *

A couple hours later Techno came in with some bandages and disinfectant. "This is gonna hurt." He deadpanned before starting to clean Dream's wounds on his arms.

Dream screamed out in pain at how rough Techno was with the cleaning. It stung so badly it was making tears bubble in the corners of his eyes. "Jeez!"

"Get over it." Techno deadpanned as he wrapped the bandages around his arms.

Nightmare snorted in Dream's head. **'Isn't he a joy. I can't wait to see him beneath my shoe.'** He sneered.

When Techno finished cleaning his wounds he left without another word.

Dream stared up at the ceiling with a sigh. All and all, it wasn't so bad here with Phil and Techno.

 **'It's awful here with them, what are you even saying? They're treating you like you're inhuman.'** Nightmare snapped.

Dream's eyes narrowed. 

Well...thanks to Nightmare, he _was_ inhuman.


	3. Chapter 3

Phil hummed as he looked at the clipboard in his hands. He was sitting with Dream on his bed. "It says here I'm suppose to ask you some questions and such, like a therapy session. So, how are you feeling?"

Dream stared him down with mild irritation. He was hit with the fatigue potion and his arms and legs were still changed up.

"...I'm gonna write that you're mediocre." Phil decided, writing it down. "Do you have anything you want to talk about?"

Dream stayed silent.

Phil frowned slightly, setting the clipboard down. "Look Dream, I didn't want to say anything because I feared Techno would unleash his wrath on me," He chuckled slightly. "But...based on what Sam's told us, you've shown very unusual behavior, you talk to yourself and will suddenly start hurting yourself. Is there a reason for that?"

This got Dream's attention. He had to genuinely think about his answer.

 **'Tell him about me.'** Nightmare insisted.

Dream's eyes widened in disbelief. 'A-Are you sure?'

 **'Totally! What's he gonna do? No one can unfuse us.'** Nightmare chuckled. **'This might be the break we've been looking for. If they learn that you're no responsible, they won't want to keep you trapped here right? Convince them Dream, for me.'** Dream flinched a little. It was strange, they were in the same body, yet Dream could feel Nightmare caressing his face, it made him really uneasy.

Phil frowned. "Dream?" He noticed the boy spacing out.

Dream swallowed hard. "Well, I'm not really sure you'll believe me."

"...I can't say I will, but I won't discard it as a lie right away." Phil insisted. "I won't tell Techno if you want."

"...Alright...well...what if I told you that um, the stuff that went down with me, Tommy and Tubbo...wasn't...well, wasn't me?" Dream started slowly, looking at Phil timidly.

Phil froze at those words, eyebrows furrowing. "I don't...understand."

"Well, okay, so, there's this entity, he didn't really have a name, I just call him Nightmare. He's...inside me, we're sharing a body. Well, he's the one who did those things." Dream explained awkwardly.

The severe look of doubt on Phil's face made him cringe, and quickly he kept going. "I-I know how it sounds, and I'm not saying I'm still not responsible. A-After all, we share a body, I should've fought harder to stop Nightmare so I'm at fault too. But uh, yeah. See, we're fused together, we're one in the same you know? And well, sometimes I get on his nerves I guess, so sometimes injuries happen," Dream smiled nervously. "Ah, but it's fine, like, I don't really mind. Nightmare's the one who saved me so it's fine, besides it's my fault for angering him in the first place. I guess what I'm trying to say with all this is that Nightmare's been in control of my body for a long time, he's the one who wanted to control Tommy...and destroy L'Manburg." Dream explained softly.

Phil was in shock. He just stared at Dream with wide eyes filled with disbelief and doubt.

Dream winced a little as he felt a pain in his chest. **'Tell him what I'm about to tell you...'** Nightmare hissed.

He forced a grin, trying to hold in his winces from the pain as he beamed at Phil. "But it's different now. After being in the prison...Nightmare knows what he did was wrong, he's not gonna hurt anyone, ever again." It was a straight out lie, Dream knew that.

But still, he...he cared for Nightmare so much, and Nightmare cared for him. He couldn't tell him no.

It wasn't like Nightmare was a bad person, he was just...scared, scared of not being in control.

Phil finally spoke after what felt like years of silence. "I see. Thank you for sharing with me Dream. I can't say I completely believe you, but I'm not sure you're lying either. If what you're saying is true, a lot of things would make sense." He frowned. Dream's sudden thirst for power, talking to himself in the prison as if having a conversation with someone else, suddenly self-harm episodes that appear out of nowhere, being gentle and kind one second and then being confident and sinister the next.

It really would explain a lot, but Phil couldn't just believe what Dream was saying like that, the man was known for his lies and manipulation skills.

"I'm going to look more into this. For now, please put up with the fatigue for a bit longer. I'll see if I can schedule for Techno and I to be in here with you for a while so at the very least you can move around and maybe read." Phil explained gently before getting up and leaving the room.

 **'You did so well my darling,'** Dream flinched at the nickname. He could feel that sensation again. He was the only one there, and yet it was as if he could feel Nightmare holding his face up by his chin, stroking it gently. He felt harsh chills go down his spine. **'We'll escape together, and find a place where we can be happy, forever.'** He assured him.

Dream looked up at the ceiling sadly. He just wished there was a way to have that happy place, but without Nightmare hurting anyone.

Couldn't he see that hurting Dream's friends didn't make Dream happy? He never wanted to hurt Tommy and Tubbo, they were kids! If anything he should be protecting them!

 **'I sense your doubts you know.'** Nightmare hissed, Dream shut his eyes tightly. **'Just because you have fatigue doesn't mean you can escape punishment you know.'** Nightmare took control of Dream's body and forced him to bite down on his tongue hard enough for it to bleed.

Dream cried out in pain as the blood built up in his mouth. **'Stop doubting me! Was I not the one who saved you? Am I not the one working hard and doing everything for you? Am I not the one shouldering everything and suffering for YOUR SAKE!?'** He shouted in Dream's head.

"I-I know...I'm sorry Nightmare, you're right, I know you're doing this all for me. I just...I'm not sure I can be happy this way...with my friends all in pain..." Blood dribbled out of Dream's mouth.

Nightmare scoffed. **'You don't need those friends. If you were still close with them they'd try to make you unfuse with me wouldn't they? To be your own person? They don't understand! You need me...' His voice grew soft. 'And I need you...'**

Dream's eyes softened at that. "I'm not gonna leave you Nightmare, I promise. I'm yours, forever." He owed it to Nightmare. He owed him everything.

God, how selfish was he? Here he was worrying about all his friends, but what about Nightmare? Nightmare was more than a friend, he was...everything. He was Dream's other half. 

Who would Dream be without Nightmare?

He never wanted to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the story's moving at a painfully slow pace, I just really want to take the time to show just how manipulative Nightmare can be.


	4. Chapter 4

Phil's eyebrows furrowed as he flipped through the old books he found in a village's library. He was in Dream's room at his desk. Dream was laid on his bed, the fatigue keeping him down. "You said it didn't have a real form?"

"Nope. Just black smoke, Nightmare doesn't have a body of his own, that's why he needed mine." Dream explained.

"But he didn't posses you, you're fused together?" Phil asked.

Dream nodded slowly, the fatigue almost making even just that impossible. "Yeah, we share my body and abilities. We can swap places and when we're fused we have immortality, if it was possession then Nightmare would have to leave my body for me to have control over it again, but instead we just switch off who's in control."

"And you said he just emerged from the forest one night?" Phil questioned as he continued reading the book in his hands. His eyes widened as he stopped at a specific page.

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like him before, but he showed up when I was dying and saved me. It's thanks to him that I'm alive right now." Dream told him with a smile.

Phil frowned. "And does Nightmare have anything to say? Anything that could help me find out exactly what he is?"

"No, he won't tell me anything, he says you shouldn't bother cause he's not in books." Dream frowned.

"I find that hard to believe. Surely someone has researched this thing in the past. I'll keep looking into it. We need proof of Nightmare's existence before we can do anything." Phil explained calmly, closing the book and turning to look at him.

Dream looked down at the blanket on the bed. "Why are you even bothering? Why...Why do you care so much anyways?"

Phil sighed a little, leaning back in his chair. "I don't know...it's just...you never seemed like the type to do this kind of thing, Tommy and Tubbo use to tell me all about you, you know." He smiled a little. "Use to say how cool they secretly thought you were."

At this, Dream choked out a gasp. "They...they said that?"

"Yeah. And then all this disc and war stuff started, it seemed awfully strange. Tell me, how did that all start anyways?" Phil asked.

Dream frowned. "Well, Sapnap had gotten into some trouble with Ponk and Alyssa so he got Tommy's help and basically started a fight with them." Dream paused for a moment, looking down rather regretfully. "I just wanted to stop them, before things got out of hand. But..." He trailed off.

Phil waited patiently for him to continue, absolutely no signs of judgement or anger on his face, it kind of threw Dream off.

So, Dream reluctantly continued. "I tried to break it up, wacked Sapnap a few times and stuff you know, same with Tommy, but as the fight kept going things got more aggressive and I guess Nightmare got kind of mad they were hurting me, or, rather us. He just, snapped, and completely took over from that point. He took Tommy's discs and threatened to destroy them and...well...you know the rest." Dream finished sadly.

"So everything after that point was Nightmare's doing?" Phil asked curiously.

"Well, mostly. I mean, there were times when I really was me, but I didn't like, attack anyone or try to hurt Tommy and stuff." Dream explained with a frown.

Phil nodded. "I see. So why didn't you fight Nightmare for control when he was hurting others?"

Dream smiled, rather bitterly. "It's not like I didn't try, but Nightmare was always stronger than me, and he kept getting scared I was trying to leave him and stuff, I didn't want to hurt Nightmare so...I stood by."

"...And do you agree that the things Nightmare did we right?" Phil asked gently.

"No, well..." Dream grew hesitant. "I mean, he did those things for me, so that we could be happy. He was scared, he just didn't want anyone to try and tear us apart, it's kind, it's on me you know? I should've tried harder to make it clear to him that he didn't need to go that far." 

Phil stared at him silently for a few moments, as if taking in what he was saying. Finally, Phil sighed softly before speaking. "Thank you, Dream. This information helps. But I can't research this by myself, I'll need to tell the others about this. I hope that's okay."

"...I guess it's fine. It's not gonna change much so." Dream shrugged, closing his eyes to rest for a while now that they were done talking.

The moment Phil left the room, he read the page in the book that had caught his interests, eyes widening with every word. "No way..." He whispered under his breath.

* * *

Techno choked out a gasp of disbelief, arms crossed as he stared at Phil with wide eyes. "You're kidding."

"You don't understand, this, this being Dream's talking about-" Phil started desperately.

Techno cut him off. "The being Dream's talking about doesn't exist Phil! He's tricking you! We have no reason to believe anything he's saying, he's just trying to get us to let him go." He snapped.

"But what if we're _wrong!?_ " Phil exclaimed sadly. "What if Dream's telling the truth and everything that's happened isn't his fault!"

Techno sneered at him. "Based on what you've said, Dream had a chance to tell us. This 'Nightmare' wasn't always in control, Dream could've gone to someone for help, or better yet, UNFUSE WITH IT. Have you thought about that Phil? Even now, Dream's fused with this being that supposedly is responsible for everything that went wrong!"

"I know but..." Phil trailed off, rubbing his arm as he looked down at the ground.

Techno scoffed in disbelief. "You...You want us to _forgive_ him?" Phil winced a little.

"I can't believe this. He's totally brainwashed you. As far as I'm concerned that guy should be tossed back in the jail, let him tear himself apart, after everything he's done, don't you think he deserves that?" Techno snapped.

Phil shook his head fiercely. "Techno, I'm scared for him. Say this Nightmare guy is real, based on everything Dream says about him...it's not right. You hear it right? In Dream's words? How he says Nightmare's not the bad guy? How Nightmare's doing it all so Dream can be happy? Does that really sound right to you? Doesn't it sound..." Phil looked down at the floor. "Manipulative?"

"Don't talk to me about manipulation!" Techno exclaimed, making Phil look at him. "Dream manipulates EVERYONE. Imagine what Tommy and Tubbo would say if they heard you right now. That you're defending the very person who put them both through so much?" Phil gritted his teeth.

Techno's gaze softened. "Phil, if you don't stop pursuing this, more people are going to get hurt. Just let it go, Dream is the villain, that's the story as we know it, there's no need to look deeper into it. Just accept that there's someone here who's just not a good person, you can't save him."

It hurt Phil to hear that, but he knew where Techno was coming from. What he was saying wasn't unreasonable, and if he's right, and Nightmare's not even real, Phil could be putting the entire world in danger by pursuing this.

If Dream gets out, and he really is this villainous person Techno and the others believe him to be, then they won't stand a chance.

"...Alright, I get it." Phil told him reluctantly. "I won't...I won't look into it anymore."

Techno let out a tired sigh. "Thank you. Now let's get to bed already, it's late." He grumbled, already turning to go to his room.

"Wait, before we give up completely. I want you to read something," Phil told him, holding out the book in his hand.

Techno stared at it before looking at Phil.

"Just...read it, the page I bookmarked. If you still don't believe that Dream's telling the truth, I'll let it go. I trust your judgement Techno." He insisted.

Reluctantly, Techno took the book, rolling his eyes, and left to go to his room.

Phil felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He wanted to help Dream. 

But what if the cost was too great? He can't risk everyone's lives just to try and help one person.

Even if that person might actually be completely innocent.

* * *

Techno let out a huff as he collapsed onto a seat in his room, taking a glance out the window. The old book rested in his hands.

He wasn't trying to be cruel, but it was ridiculous. The very idea of Nightmare is silly, how could Phil ever believe such a story?

Reluctantly, Techno flipped through the book to where Phil had placed a feather to mark the page.

The drawing was of black smoke, almost like black smudges on the paper. It was floating in the air surrounded by a forest. Techno glanced briefly at the title of the chapter, only to realize it had been torn out.

Eyebrows furrowing, Techno kept reading the messy handwriting.

 _In all my years of travel, I've seen many strange creatures in my day, but this one is unlike anything I've ever seen. Though I have only caught glimpses of it in the woods, an acquaintance of mine actually interacted with it. Unfortunately, my acquaintance was far too gone to speak much of the matter, only letting out occasional mutters and scratching at his skin. He was unwell, kept in the village's medical center at all times. People have tried to learn what was wrong, but his body is unharmed beyond scratched he'd cause himself. Usually, he wouldn't say anything, but there was rare instances where he'd lash out violently at anyone who went near him, like a lever had been switched. Once I sat down with my acquaintance while he was at his calmest, he told me about-_ there was a hole in the paper. _-and how it offered him protection. It promised him that nothing would ever harm him, in exchange, he wanted to be able to use his body. I tried to reason with him, explain that this being wasn't healthy for him. But he didn't care, he said they were one and the same now. My acquaintance was beyond help, when he wasn't lashing out at us or harming himself, he was collapsed in bed almost as if in a vegetive state. We'd never seen anything like it, the doctors couldn't help and there was no reasoning with him at that point, he didn't even care who we were anymore, all he cared about was his beloved-_ the rest of the page had been torn out.

Techno let out a shaky breath as the book trembled in his hands, eyes wide with terror.

This was...Is this what was happening to Dream? Is this what was going to happen if they didn't stop it?

He didn't want to believe it. He wanted Dream to be lying. He wanted this to be a sick prank by Phil. 

But this wasn't Phil's handwriting, and Techno couldn't just ignore what was written in this book. This thing, Nightmare as Dream called him, was real, he was certain of it.

And if they didn't do something soon, Dream would be gone forever.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I don't really know a lot of the people on the SMP, so uh, if they're not here, then just pretend they've gone off to explore, or are in the nether or end or something cause I don't know how to write them 😂😂 I'm already pushing it by adding Fundy, Ranboo and Ant, whom I also don't know how to write lol

Phil and Techno were back by Tommy's hotel, on the main path. Sam, Tommy, Tubbo, George, Sapnap, Ranboo, Bad, Skeppy, Fundy and Ant were gathered around as well. They had wanted to get everyone, but the others were currently unreachable, too far to get into contact with.

"Thank you for meeting us here. I'm sure you've all heard about Dream's release." Phil explained gently.

Tommy was fuming just from hearing that. He had heard about it of course, everyone had, but even after having time to process it, he was still pissed off. Tubbo hid behind him slightly, nervously looking down at his feet, feeling quite unsettled.

"After months of watching Dream in the prison and speaking to him ourselves, plus doing immense amounts of research, we think there's a possibility that the Dream we've all accused as being the villain may not actually be Dream." Phil told them.

"What?" Bad breathed, eyes wide in disbelief. Skeppy's eyes widened in shock.

Ant's eyebrows furrowed.

"Are...are you serious?" George choked out, looking just as shocked as everyone else.

Techno nodded. "We believe Dream has been fused with a strange creature. Dream calls this creature Nightmare, and since we can't find its name anywhere else, let's just call it that for now." He held up the book to show everyone the picture drawn inside of Nightmare. "It's a dangerous creature that doesn't have a true form, it's a mess of smoke. It can speak and enter a person's body. Dream has fused with this being, which has allowed Nightmare to use Dream's face for evil." 

Tommy gritted his teeth, he was trembling with pure anger as Techno continued speaking.

"After reading about Nightmare in this book and hearing Dream's description of Nightmare, there's no doubt that it's the same being. Which would mean, that every violent act towards us, stealing the discs, threatening Tubbo and everyone else, destroying L'Manburg, everything was-" Techno was cut off.

"SHUT UP!" Tommy exclaimed, making nearly everyone jump in surprise, except for Techno, who seemed to expect it. "What kind of nonsense are you spewing!? After we fought SO HARD and for SO LONG to get that damn piece of rubbish locked away, y-you, you're trying to say that none of those things were his fault!?" Tommy laughed loudly, covering his face with his hand.

Tubbo placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Tommy ignored him.

Tommy moved his hand to show his scowl, eyes peering into Techno's soul. "DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! THAT GREEN MOTHER FUCKER TRIED TO DESTROY EVERYTHING! I DON'T CARE WHAT KIND OF EXCUSE HE'S GIVING YOU, WE'RE NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE THAT BASTARD-"

"Calm down, Tommy, please." Phil cut him off gently, hands up in defense. "No one's asking you to do anything, and no one's gonna force you to do anything either. Please, just listen." He pleaded.

Tommy was still fuming, but her crossed his arms and glared at them silently, letting them speak.

"We know it sounds very hard to believe, but consider how much would make sense if it was true, Dream's sudden change, his violent tendencies he never use to have. Sam," Phil looked at the creeper. "You've been watching Dream for months, you reported multiple self-harm episodes, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, multiple times he scratched himself or would bash his head against the wall, and he appeared to be talking to himself all the time. That's the reason we let him out in the first place, was because we were worried he'd kill himself if he kept this up."

Tommy scoffed. "Let him."

"Tommy." Tubbo pleaded. "Give them a chance, you have to admit Dream's different from how he use to be, all of that disc stealing and attacking us and threatening to kill me was so...not like Dream, and you know it."

"But what if it is? What if we were just too damn blind to see it? Maybe that was his plan from the beginning, to make us think he was this kind, cool guy, and then when our guard was down he started doing this shit!" Tommy exclaimed.

George shook his head. "No. No way. I don't know what happened to Dream, what started this whole mess, but before you guys showed up, Dream was different, he was happy, he was fun to be around, and he was like the most selfless person ever." He insisted.

Tommy snorted. "Oh please, Dream was selfless?"

"Yes." Sapnap hissed, making Tommy wince. "He was. But then he changed, so...so suddenly, like overnight."

Tubbo looked at his best friend with sadness. "Tommy, think about it...remember what we thought when we first saw Dream fight someone? We thought he was so cool!"

"He was cool." George chimed in, smiling fondly. The younger boys looked at him. "He was the coolest guy I knew, I couldn't believe someone like him would ever be friends with someone like me. But he was, he was my best friend, well, him and Sapnap." George grinned when he saw Sapnap's pout.

"Say you're right about all of this Nightmare stuff," Fundy spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "What do we do about it?"

"You said they're fused together right? So it's not possession?" Ranboo questioned.

Phil shook his head softly. "No, it's not possession. Dream chose to fuse with Nightmare, he's not being held against his will at all. He feels like he owes it to Nightmare to stay fused, and...despite everything, Dream really cares for him. He told me how much he cares about Nightmare, and that the things Nightmare did were out of fear."

Tubbo frowned. "So you have no solution basically."

"No...not yet..." Phil winced. "But we have to think of something, and fast."

"Why?" Skeppy questioned, tilting his head.

Techno scowled. "Because if we don't, Dream's not going to last very long. I want everyone to take a moment to read this passage." He held the book out to them.

One by one, everyone read the entry, each one looking pale and nervous afterwards.

"So you're saying if we don't do something fast that...that Dream might go crazy?" George questioned softly.

Phil nodded reluctantly. "Essentially, yes. He'll become so attached to Nightmare that their brains will fuse together completely, and then there's no going back."

"Alright, so we have to unfuse them." Fundy commented. "That's the bottom line."

"Can't we just...force Nightmare out somehow?" Tubbo asked weakly.

Phil looked down. "No, that's the hard part about this. They're fused together, it's not possession. The only one who can make them unfuse is Dream or Nightmare."

"Did you tell Dream what will happen to him?" Ranboo asked.

"Not yet." Techno told them. "We have a feeling he's not going to listen."

"B-But that's crazy!" Bad exclaimed. "Once he knows what Nightmare's doing to him-" He started.

Phil shook his head. "It's not that simple. You guys didn't see the way Dream talked about Nightmare, how he defended everything Nightmare did, and how attached he is to the creature. I'm worried that even knowing this, he won't unfuse."

"So you want a backup plan in case he refuses." Ant commented.

Phil nodded. "Exactly. I think we should go see Dream and try to convince him together."

"Count me out." Tommy spoke up, making them all look at him in surprise.

"Wha- but why!?" Bad snapped. "Come on Tommy, don't you think Dream's innocent if Nightmare really is fused with him!?"

Tommy scowled. "No, I don't."

"Hey man, we all went through hell cause of Dream and Nightmare, but if we don't do something we'll lose Dream forever, do you want that?" Sapnap hissed.

Tommy's arms were still crossed, his scowl deepened. "Yeah you guys were all put through shit, but none of you went through what I did. The exile, the discs, watching as Dream used my own best friend as a damn shield during a fight!" Tommy shut his eyes tightly as he winced at the memories. Tubbo watched his friend with concern. "That guy put me through hell more times than I can count, so you'll have to excuse me if I'm rooting for Nightmare to corrupt him." With that, Tommy turned on his heel and stormed off, not giving anyone else a chance to speak.

Hesitantly, Tubbo looked at the others. "Um, why don't you guys go on ahead? I'll talk to him." Tubbo ran off after Tommy.

"Gahhhh, that kid. He's so stubborn." Sapnap grumbled.

"But I get where he's coming from." George admitted. The others looked at him. "Regardless of whether or not Dream's truly responsible, it was still his body, his voice, his face, doing all of those things. I think...Tommy's still pretty messed up about all of it." He frowned, looking down at the floor.

Techno huffed. "We'll leave Tommy to Tubbo, we need to get going. Dream's fatigue potion will fade soon." Everyone seemed in agreement, whether it was because they believed Nightmare was real, or simply needed to see more proof, they all followed Phil and Techno back to their house.


	6. Chapter 6

"Whoa wait, you thought- I think there's a misunderstanding." Dream started in surprise, he was sat up in his bed, the others all stood around the room looking at him.

Bad frowned. "You're not fused with Nightmare?"

"No I am, but the way you guys are talking about him makes him sound evil or something." Dream commented.

Sapnap choked out a gasp. "Y-You seriously think he's not evil? Look at what he did to you!" He gestured to Dream's bandaged arms.

"Oh that? Oh, no no no," Dream let out a genuine laugh, making them all at him in confusion. "Nightmare didn't mean to hurt me, I just happened to set him off and get on his nerves too much." He insisted.

"Set him off?" George cringed a little. "Dream, you shouldn't be worried about 'setting him off'. He shouldn't be hurting you at all!"

Dream frowned. "But, he's doing it for me. He's just scared guys, you don't get it. Nightmare...he needs someone, he can't survive on his own, he just freaked out when he thought I wanted to unfuse, that's all."

"Don't you get it Dream? You read the passage yourself, Nightmare is dangerous, he's going to corrupt you." Techno snapped.

At this, Dream scowled. "Nightmare would never do that! Maybe you guys got the wrong being! His name isn't listed in books!"

"And you don't think it's suspicious that the name of this thing is ripped out?" Phil asked, showing off the holes in the pages.

Fundy frowned. "Look Dream, you don't have to unfuse forever, just a couple minutes, that way anyone who has doubts will know you're telling the truth." He reasoned.

Dream grew hesitant at this. It would be nice to prove Nightmare's existence...

**"Don't you dare. We're not unfusing! It's a trap, they want to tear us apart!"** Nightmare cried, making Dream wince, he could almost feel Nightmare tugging on him by his hair. **"Can't you see it Dream? They want to take me away from you!"** He sounded genuinely scared. **"Don't let them take me!"**

"Yeah that won't go over well." Dream mumbled after a moment. "Sorry."

Skeppy frowned. "Oh come on, not even for a couple of minutes?"

"Nightmare's scared, he's worried you guys will try to take me away from him, he's just not comfortable with it." Dream explained.

Sapnap scowled. "Well to hell with what he wants!"

"Sapnap-" George started.

"No! He's totally brainwashed, Nightmare's corrupted his brain, you'd have to be an idiot to not see that!" Sapnap exclaimed.

Dream scowled. "Hey, don't talk about Nightmare that way, I'd be dead without him!"

"But you're safe now, you don't owe Nightmare anything." Phil insisted gently.

Dream looked down. "But I do. I can't just leave him after all he's done for me."

"And what things were those, Dream?" Sapnap spoke up coldly. "When he stole the discs from Tommy? When he tried to murder Tubbo?"

"You don't understand! He didn't want to do those things, I'm sure of it. Nightmare isn't like that, he's not evil." Dream insisted.

Sam spoke up. "Okay, let's all just calm down." He reasoned.

"We just don't want to lose you Dream, but if you don't unfuse, Nightmare will completely mess up your brain." Bad told him with worry.

"You guys don't get it, Nightmare would never do that to me! We're the same person, I know him." Dream told them confidently.

Ranboo sighed. "Guys he's not going to listen to us."

"Well then what are we suppose to do?" George questioned sadly.

* * *

"It's not as simple as you think, Dream's innocent! Nightmare's the one who did all those things." Tubbo exclaimed as he followed Tommy. "I'm sure watching Nightmare do those things broke Dream inside."

Tommy scoffed. "You say that Tubbo, but you're forgetting the most important thing. Dream and Nightmare are fused together, Dream could've stopped him and he didn't. He just let it happen. He let that thing exile me!" Tommy exclaimed.

"But doesn't that make you even more curious? Why would Dream do that?" Tubbo asked gently. "Don't you want some answers?'

"What I really want is for Dream to be tossed back into prison." Tommy sneered.

Tubbo's eyes narrowed. "Tommy, come on. Maybe there's more to it than that. Maybe Dream really didn't have a choice."

Tommy shook his head, shutting his eyes tightly. "But don't you see Tubbo? If he DID have a choice, that's just going to make him even worse to me than he already is. Sure, Nightmare might be the one who did those things, but Dream's even worse for not stopping him!"

"By that logic, wouldn't we be the worst of all for not helping Dream?" Tubbo tried to reason.

Tommy looked down at this, growing hesitant.

Tubbo placed a hand on his shoulder gently. "Look if it makes you more comfortable, I'll wait outside, I won't even stay in the same room as him."

Reluctantly, Tommy glanced at Tubbo's pleading face and scowled a little. Finally, he let out a huge sigh. "FINE. WHATEVER. LET'S GO." He grumbled, Tubbo followed him with a grin.

* * *

"I already told you guys I'm not going to unfuse, not unless Nightmare wants too." Dream snapped stubbornly, crossing his arms.

George sighed heavily. "Dream, don't you think it's strange how insistent Nightmare is? How he makes everything your fault? How he never cares about what you want?"

"But he does, it's all he cares about!" Dream insisted. "Everything he does is for me!"

"If he cares about you, make him prove it. Tell him to unfuse with you." Bad told him gently. 

Dream looked down. "I can't do that, I'm sorry." He told them sincerely.

Phil sighed a little and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, let's think about this another way. Dream, if you unfuse with Nightmare, it proves your innocence at the very least. Isn't that important?"

"But Nightmare will be so upset..." Dream frowned.

"Maybe, but don't you think you can work it out, if he really cares for you?" Phil insisted with a gentle, calming smile as he rubbed Dream's shoulder comfortingly.

Dream seemed to pause at this, deep in thought.

**'You're not seriously considering it.'**

'But it will prove your existence, and it's only for a couple minutes!'

**'Don't you _DARE!_ '**

Dream let out a scream as he tried to claw at his own face, sending everyone into a panic.

"Shit!" Techno tackled Dream down onto the bed, pinning his arms down as best he could despite the chains on them. Dream screamed under him and struggled under his hold. "A little help!?"

Phil and the others snapped out of their shock and quickly sprung into action. Sapnap, Bad and George helped hold him down while Phil ran to get the fatigue. Skeppy, Ranboo and Ant went to the door to prepare to lock it shut.

Dream let out a few more screams of terror before biting down on George's arm, making the boy wince. "Dream calm down! It's okay!"

Nightmare scowled dangerously at him. **"STOP TRYING TO PULL HIM AWAY FROM ME!"** Their eyes widened. **"DREAM IS _MINE._ I WON'T LET YOU TAKE HIM AWAY!"**

"T-This is Nightmare!" Bad gasped.

**"No kidding. Now get off of me!"** Nightmare kicked Techno off of him and sprung up. 

George and the others tried to grab him, but Nightmare quite literally jumped onto Sapnap before jumping towards the door.

"CLOSE IT!" George exclaimed.

Skeppy and the others tried to shut the heavy door, but Nightmare was faster.

Nightmare smirked maliciously as he slipped through. **"Nice try~"** Looking around quickly, Nightmare found the stair case railing and smashed the chains onto it, breaking them off. His hands looked broken, but he was unbothered. 

After a few moments, the broken hands healed and Nightmare snapped the chains on his ankles off as the others ran to him, trying to stop him. **"You made a mistake the very moment you released us from that prison."** Nightmare jumped out the window.

"NO!" George screamed, eyes wide as he watched Nightmare run off into the woods. "DAMMIT!"

"DON'T JUST STAND THERE, AFTER HIM!" Techno hissed, already running out the door. The others followed in a hurry.

* * *

Tommy grumbled as he and Tubbo headed for Phil's house. "Stupid Dream and stupid Nightmare making everything such a pain and..." He kept mumbling complaints that Tubbo had gotten use to tuning out.

But then, like a bolt of lightning, Nightmare shot towards them and slammed right into the boys, sending them all tumbling down.

"Jesus fucking christ what-" Tommy froze when he saw who had run into them, his jaw dropped.

Tubbo let out a gasp. "D-Dream?"

Dream choked out a gasp when he saw them, breathing heavy from the adrenaline. He heard the others yelling and heading his way, all while Nightmare was screaming at him to run.

Quickly, Dream scrambled up and quickly ran off deeper into the woods, leaving the young boys sitting there in shock and confusion.

Techno and the others arrived, panting heavily. "Tommy, Tubbo, where's Dream?" Techno panted, sword in hand.

"...Um..." Tubbo trailed off. "That way?" He pointed the direction Dream had run off too.

They left in a hurry, not even stopping to talk to Tommy and Tubbo whatsoever.

"Well that was rude." Tommy scowled.

"We can worry about that later, let's follow them!" Tubbo insisted, already standing up. Tommy followed suit and the boys ran after the others.

* * *

"Nightmare, please, let's, talk, about, this..." Dream choked out as he panted hard. He couldn't run anymore, he needed a break. He was currently hidden behind a bunch of trees.

Nightmare scowled. **'What's there to talk about? I'm just trying to protect you! As we speak they're hunting you down just so they can trap us again!'**

"But only because we gave them reason too!" Dream snapped, growing frustrated. "I-If you hadn't tried to hurt me like that-"

**'Are you really turning the blame on me? If you weren't such a nuisance I wouldn't have had to do that!'** Nightmare exclaimed.

Dream flinched a little at his angry tone and looked down sadly. "...Why are you acting like this? They're right you know. You said you wanted to protect me and help me, but all you do is put me down!"

**'Wha- Dream don't you see what they're doing? They're trying to make me the bad guy! Do you really think they'll allow you to live after everything you've done? You need me! If we're fused, they can't harm you! I MADE YOU AS STRONG AS YOU ARE. _YOU WILL DO WHAT I TELL YOU!_ '** Nightmare shrieked in his mind.

Dream covered his ears with his hands, even though he knew it wouldn't help. "Stop shouting at me! I'm tired of this!"

**'AND I'M TIRED OF YOU BEING A DAMN BURDEN!'** Nightmare hissed.

Dream scowled. "If I'm such a burden...THEN JUST _GO AWAY!_ " In that moment, Dream's body glowed, letting out a blinding light.

* * *

Techno and the others who were near by, saw the light and had to cover their eyes.

"W-What is that!?" George asked as he winced at the light.

"Let's find out." Techno told them. They ran towards the light.

* * *

Dream let out a strong gasp as a black smoke left through his eyes, nose and mouth. He collapsed onto the ground.

**'Y-You unfused with me?...'** Nightmare questioned in disbelief and heartbreak.

Before Dream could respond, the others found him. "DREAM!" Sapnap ran and knelt down next to him.

Bad gasped. "Look!" He pointed at Nightmare.

Techno scowled, holding his sword up towards the smoke. "GET OUT OF HERE!" 

Nightmare winced a little and glanced at Dream before reluctantly leaving. Without a body, there simply wasn't anything he could do. He disappeared into the forest, for now.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Techno fell to his knees in exhaustion. "Shit how long were we running for?"

"Dream? Hey, Dream?" George called to him gently, kneeling down next to Bad and Sapnap.

Sapnap held Dream up slightly and watched as the boy opened his eyes tiredly. He looked at them all for a moment before tears bubbled up in his eyes. "Is he gone?..."

"He's gone Dream...he's gone..." George insisted with his own watery smile. The boys hugged Dream tightly, feeling nothing but relief. The others could only watch them with fond smiles, even Tommy and Tubbo looked relieved.

The Dream they all knew and loved was finally free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear we're not near the end of the book at all, like, we've still got quite a ways to go, I know this feels very much like a 'right before the epilogue' chapter but trust me it's not lol


	7. Chapter 7

"Here." Phil set the sandwich down on Dream's lap. The boy was sat up in bed, the others all sitting in different parts of the room.

Ranboo, Fundy, Skeppy, Sam, Ant, Tubbo and Tommy went back home, mainly to give Dream space and also because they couldn't leave all the animals and farms unattended for too long, life still goes on despite everything. Though, Tommy and Tubbo left because Tommy couldn't handle seeing Dream, it had more of an impact on him than he thought it would.

But the others stuck around, they couldn't leave him, not yet.

Dream's been painfully quiet since he unfused from Nightmare, even now, he was staring down at the sandwich almost in confusion.

"You need to eat Dream." George insisted, munching on his own sandwich.

"...Yeah, thanks." Dream mumbled, taking a small nibble from it.

Sapnap smiled. "So um, now that you're free from Nightmare I guess it's time for you to return huh?"

"Oh shoot, he'll need a place to stay." Bad realized.

"He can stay with me." George insisted.

Techno shook his head. "No. He'll stay with me." The others looked at him in shock and disbelief. Techno crossed his arms. "Don't misunderstand me, I saw Nightmare for myself, it's likely Dream was telling the truth about Nightmare causing everything. But Dream's release had rules. He can't go near Tommy or Tubbo until the two are comfortable with it, and I'm sorry but Tommy's clearly not there yet. I think it'd be best if Dream stayed farther away for now."

"I guess that makes sense." Bad conceded. "But don't you worry Dream, we'll visit you all the time!"

George grinned. "Hell yeah, we can go caving and hunting-"

Sapnap cut him off. "Hey, we should go exploring the ocean together too!"

"And make muffins!" Bad gushed. "And other sweets too, but mainly muffins."

"Guys." Phil chuckled. "Please, Dream's still recovering. Try not to overwhelm him."

Dream shook his head. "No it's...it's fine um..." He smiled a little. "That sounds like fun, but maybe let's start off simple for now?"

"Sure. For now we need to get you moved in to Techno's." Bad told him.

"Right, thank you Techno." Dream gave Techno a kind smile.

But Techno could only scowl. That smile wasn't a Dream smile, it was fake, he was certain of it.

"Oh right, here Dream, I thought you'd want this back." Phil told him before walking over to a drawer, he grabbed Dream's mask and held it out to him. "I forgot when you were in the prison they took it away, but...you can have it back now."

Dream stared at the mask in silence for a moment, then hesitantly reached out and took it. "Thank you."

"We should get moving yeah? Before night falls." George told them.

"Right. Are you okay to walk yet?" Sapnap asked.

Dream hummed. "I think so." With that he moved the blanket off of him and got out of bed, wobbling slightly where he stood.

Techno snorted. "Oh yeah, you can walk." He said sarcastically before turning his back to Dream. "Get on."

"W-What? Uh, that's okay I think I can-" Dream laughed nervously.

"Would you hurry up?" Techno snapped, making him shut up.

Carefully, Dream grabbed Techno's shoulders and Techno lifted him up by his thighs, holding him steadily. "Alright let's go."

Phil nodded. "Right."

* * *

Tommy stared up at the ceiling. He was lying in bed, thinking hard about what had happened after Dream collapsed.

_"Dream!" Someone had yelled briefly. Tommy knew the others were running to check if Dream was okay, but Tommy couldn't move. Just seeing Dream in person gave him chills._

_The idea that this man was currently free, and could stab one of them in the back at the drop of a hat, it terrified him. He was paralyzed._

_Before he knew it, he couldn't breath._

_The world around him spun, blurred, and spun again, and before he knew it he was on the ground._

_Tubbo's the one who helped him calm down, making sure he took deep breaths. But even when the panic attack subsided, he felt dizzy._

_Sam carried him back home, and that's all there was to it._

Tommy grumbled as he punched the bed in frustration.

He didn't want to react that badly, but seeing Dream just sent so much fear into his system he didn't know how else to react. On some level, he knew it wasn't Dream's fault, not really, they had all seen Nightmare for themselves, Nightmare was the cause, not Dream.

But still. It was still Dream's face, and trauma did not leave easily. 

Did it ever leave? Tommy wasn't sure.

But he sure as hell hoped it would, someday.

* * *

Phil huffed as he and Bad set up a bed for Dream upstairs. It was a little cramped with all of Techno's stuff, but it would do.

Downstairs, Sapnap and George were trying to find clothes and other things Dream could use, since his hoodie was beyond filthy, it hasn't even been changed in nearly a year thanks to prison.

When the bed was set up, Techno set Dream down on it. "There, get some rest."

"...Thanks." Dream mumbled.

"Hmph." Techno headed downstairs. "You guys find any clothes?"

George frowned. "No, everything's too big. He's way too skinny for this stuff."

"He's too skinny for his own clothes." Sapnap huffed.

Bad hummed. "Skeppy's pretty thin, I could bring over some of his hoodies and stuff."

"Alright, in the meantime, we need to work on getting Dream to eat." Phil spoke up with concern. "He wasn't fed much in the prison."

"Yeah yeah, I'll work on it." Techno sighed. "Leave it to me, you guys can go home."

George grew hesitant. "Oh come on, you're kicking us out already?'

"He's our best friend we can't just leave him!" Sapnap exclaimed.

"Hah? Well there's nowhere for you guys to sleep, it's cramped as it is." Techno snapped.

Phil smiled. "You guys can stay with me." George and Sapnap beamed.

Techno grumbled under his breath. "Bunch of annoying children all up in my space..." 

"I'll come back tomorrow, I gotta get the clothes." Bad told them with a smile.

"Alright, it's decided then, we should head back before sunset." Phil told the boys.

Everyone left Techno's house, and Techno let out a groan of annoyance.

Dream was sure making this a pain. He'd owe Techno dearly for making him deal with his annoying and clingy friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally not using this chapter to send off all the characters I don't know how to write- 😂


	8. Chapter 8

It was weird seeing Dream in a blue hoodie instead of green, but George had to admit, he loved it. It was nice to see Dream in a better color than that disgusting yellow look.

But despite that, it also made him sad. Dream just seemed so...down. He didn't bother with his mask, and George almost never saw him smile. Its been a week since they unfused and Dream hardly even speaks.

Thus, operation 'Make Dream Happy Again' was born.

"Alright." Sapnap slammed his hand down on the table holding a map. "I've found the perfect location for our camping trip, we just need to pack the stuff for it."

Phil looked at them all nervously. "Is this really a good idea? Dream's still really..."

"But that's why! This camping trip will cheer him up, I'm sure of it." George insisted. 

"He's still uneasy cause of Nightmare, he needs to get out of his head for a bit." Bad explained.

Techno nodded. "I suppose. But listen, I don't want you guys gone for anymore than three days, if you're even a minute late I'll assume something went wrong and come after you." He warned them.

"Relax," Sapnap waved him off. "Dream's totally free of Nightmare, and he'll see that once he starts having a bit of fun."

Phil hummed. "Just, be careful." He fretted. "While you guys are gone, I'm gonna go see Tommy, see if...we can figure out a way to help him be around Dream easier."

"Sounds good. Alright team, let's move out!" George grinned.

* * *

"Sapnap you said you knew where you were going!" George snapped as they trudged through the forest, backpacks with them.

"And I do, we just took a different path!" Sapnap insisted stubbornly, trying to figure out the map.

Bad groaned tiredly. "We're gonna die out here." He took a glance at Dream, who was just staring off into space as they walked. Hesitantly, he spoke. "Everything okay, Dream?"

"Hm?" Dream noticed him and gave a small smile. "Ah yeah, sorry, just...tired I guess."

"SAPNAP GIVE ME THE MAP!" George exclaimed, trying to snatch the paper from him.

"NO! I CAN DO THIS!" Sapnap hissed, trying to shove him away.

Bad let out a chuckle. "They never change, huh?"

"...Hm..." Dream smiled slightly.

* * *

"What the actual fuck is that for?" George questioned in disbelief when they finally got to their destination. Sapnap had dumped out his bag of stuff on the floor, one of the things that fell out was a giant bag of berries.

Bad scowled. "Language!" George held up his hands in defense.

Sapnap grinned. "I thought we could feed them to the foxes, there's suppose to be a bunch around here!"

"I guess...but we should set up the campfire first." Bad told them with a chuckle.

"Oh come on, night's still far away, you want to right Dream?" Sapnap pleaded, looking at his friend.

Dream seemed surprised as the attention turned to him. "Ah...I mean, sure, I guess..." He frowned a little.

"You heard him, let's find foxes!" Sapnap insisted with a grin, already dragging Dream along through the forest.

Bad and George let out heavy sighs before following after them.

* * *

Phil knocked on the door to Tommy's house gently. "Tommy? Can we talk?" He called.

After a few moments, a tired looking Tommy answered. "What do you want?" He mumbled before heading back over and collapsing on his bed.

Phil entered and closed the door behind him. "Look I wanted to talk about Dream...I know you're pissed at him, but...Dream isn't the one who hurt you and Tubbo, you know that."

"I know." Tommy groaned. "I know that Phil, I know. But I just...ever time I see Dream's face, I just imagine his sneer, how he looked when he exiled me, when he held onto Tubbo and threatened to kill him, when he forced me to give up all of my things and blew them up...it still gives me nightmares." He shuddered.

Phil sat down on his bed gently and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know, Dream does feel bad. I bet if you saw him, he'd apologize."

Tommy scoffed. "Dream made too many mistakes for an apology to fix shit."

"And he's suffering for it." Phil insisted, making Tommy look at him. "You don't have to forgive him right away Tommy, but staying angry at Dream isn't going to help anyone, it's only going to make you and Dream hurt more."

Tommy looked down at this.

Phil stood up and headed for the door. "Just...think about it. And if you do ever decide too...Dream's staying with Techno right now."

Tommy didn't respond, but Phil didn't need him too. So the older boy just left.

* * *

"Here we go." Sapnap spoke quietly as he held his hand out to the foxes. They started nibbling on the berries he had in delight.

George grinned. "Hey I got a bunch of them." He chuckled as three foxes fought over the berries he had.

"Awww look at these two." Bad gushed at the fox couple eating the berries in his hand.

Dream hummed a little, looking around for any others, that's when he noticed a baby hiding in the bushes looking at him. Smiling slightly, Dream knelt down and held out the berries to the little guy.

It approached him with caution before beginning to gently nibble at the berries.

Dream grinned a little at how cute it was, but in that moment, he remembered a certain sensation that sent chills up his spine.

_Nightmare grinned almost maliciously, giving Dream's hand a gentle lick before sliding up to his face, pressing a hand to his cheek. **"You're mine."**_

"AHHH!" Dream let out a shriek of terror as he fell back. The baby fox jumped in fear before running off, the other foxes quickly followed suit.

"Whoa- Dream, Dream, it's okay, it's okay!" Sapnap insisted, rushing to his side in an instant. Dream breathed heavily as he looked around before looking at George, Bad and Sapnap's concerned faces.

He took one last deep breath. "S-Sorry." He stuttered.

"It's no problem, ah...maybe we should do something else?" George suggested with a small smile, eyes still showing concern.

Bad gasped in delight. "Let's make lunch!"

"Hell yes!" Sapnap grinned.

"LANGUAGE!"

Dream hesitantly stood up and followed the others back to the main campsite, glancing over his shoulder every now and then with unease.

* * *

"OH GOD DAMMIT!" Sapnap exclaimed when the veggies they brought caught on fire.

"LANGUAGE!" Bad exclaimed.

George looked at him with wide eyes. "NOW IS NOT THE TIME!"

"PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!" Sapnap shrieked, looking around for something that could help.

Dream's eyes were locked on the fire. Flashbacks to L'Manburg falling to pieces flooded his memory, making him wince.

Sapnap dumped a bucket of water they brought onto the food, putting out the fire, leaving only burnt and soaked pieces of vegetables left.

"I'm thinking we aren't gonna be able to eat that..." Bad hummed.

Sapnap grinned nervously. "Well uh, you know what? We can find more food. For now we should set up the tent!" He tried to grab the tent, but it got stuck on the zipper of one of the backpacks and when he pulled it up, everyone heard a loud tear noise.

Dream winced at the tear noise, body trembling.

_Nightmare roared in his mind as he made Dream slice up and down his arms with his sword. "I TOLD YOU TO LISTEN TO ME AND YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT!" The tearing of the flesh make Dream sob._

"ARGHHHHH YOU'RE AN IDIOT!" Bad exclaimed in frustration.

"I'M SORRY!" Sapnap cried.

George face palmed, but when he turned his head to look at Dream, he noticed the boy walking away. Concerned, George followed after him.

* * *

George hesitantly walked up to where Dream was. He found the boy sitting by the river, looking down into it, deep in thought. "Dream?"

He noticed the boy lift his head slightly.

"Errr, so, the tent's kind of ruined so um, we're gonna be sleeping on the grass...haha, I mean, as long as it doesn't rain we're good right?" George tried, grinning a little. But when Dream didn't respond, his smile faded.

He looked down sadly. "We're really sorry Dream, we brought you hear to help you forget about your unease but everything's just kind of ruined now."

Dream sighed softly. "Don't be sorry, it's not you guys."

"...It isn't?" George questioned in disbelief.

Dream's hands balled into fists as he stared down into the river. "I can't stop thinking about Nightmare, how he was always shouting at me and- and like- mentally touching me...how he did whatever he wanted without a care about what I thought of it."

George sat down next to Dream and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "But you're safe now. Nightmare's gone."

"That's my problem." Dream shook his head. "I... _miss_ him..." He spoke out hesitantly.

George choked out a gasp. "W-What?"

"We were fused together for so long...I feel like I'm missing something..." Dream spoke longingly, looking at George with sadness.

George stared at him with disbelief. "B-But he was terrible! He tortured you, us, everyone!"

" _I_ tortured you guys! I could've stopped him and I didn't, it's all _my_ fault! Go on, tell me I'm wrong!" Dream exclaimed tearfully, looking at his best friend with frustration.

But George was up for the challenge. He hugged him tightly. "It isn't your fault."

Dream's bottom lip wobbled. Tears ran down his cheeks before he could stop them. He hugged George back. "I miss him George...I miss him _so_ much..."

"...I _know._ " George spoke softly, rubbing Dream's back gently. There was nothing else to say on the matter.

There was nothing he _could_ say.


End file.
